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Sanders gets emotional at child's school shooting question

Posted: 5:54 PM, May 30, 2018

Updated:2018-05-30 18:54:43-04

By:
CNN

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CNN

<p>"As a kid, and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe, so I'm sorry that you feel that way," Sanders, her voice cracking, told Benje Choucroun, 13-year old Time for Kids Reporter.</p>

A young reporter took to the White House briefing room Wednesday to share his worries that he and his classmates "could get shot at school" and asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders how the White House plans to prevent more shootings from happening.

"At my school, we recently had a lockdown drill. One thing that affects my and other students' mental health is the worry about we or our friends could get shot at school. Specifically, could you tell me what the administration has done or will do to prevent these senseless tragedies?" asked Benje Choucroun, a 13-year-old from California reporting for Time for Kids.

Choucroun's question struck a chord with Sanders, a mother of three young children, who choked up as she answered the young reporter, promising him the administration will do "every single thing in our power" to protect children.

"As a kid, and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe, so I'm sorry that you feel that way," Sanders said, her voice cracking.

"This administration takes it seriously and the school safety commission that the President convened is meeting again this week -- an official meeting to discuss the best ways forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools and to make them feel safe and their parents feel good about dropping them off," she added.

Trump will meet with the families of some of those victims during a visit to Houston on Thursday "to personally offer his condolences and support," Sanders said.

Trump has offered few thoughts on how to prevent future mass shootings in the wake of the Texas school shooting.

The President first engaged in a wide-ranging debate on how to stem the tide of mass shootings in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting
-- even lending his support to proposals opposed by the National Rifle Association, like raising the minimum age of purchase for certain guns and expanding background checks.

But those proposals quickly vanished from the President's public remarks on the issue, with Trump instead backing modest proposals to improve federal reporting to the background check system and school safety funding.